Day 18 of Advent 2024: Showing Up

When was the last time you stepped up to face something in your life, even though you weren’t sure you had it in you to do so? “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” — Brené Brown It’s a quiet, snow-dusted night in Home Alone. Kevin...

Day 17 of Advent 2024: Marks that Matter

A German Shepherd’s Mark Can Be Substantial Serendipitously, after our 5-year-old German Shepherd, Axel, succumbed to cancer at Halloween, a beautiful rescue German Shepherd appeared on my social media feed. He was “in desperate need of a forever home,” as...

Day 16 of Advent 2024: Forgotten But Not Abandoned

After the death of my mom, my dad remarried, and we moved to the booming metropolis of Sawmills. We began attending the local church and I made fast friends. Important for a 9-year-old whose life had just been turned upside down. However, a few months in, my...

Day 15 of Advent 2024: Overlooked

When Andrew and Layne were young, we’d count down the days before big events by counting “darks.” It was our quirky little system, and let’s be honest, it worked better than the impatient “Are we there yet?” countdowns. We are officially down to the darks you can...

Day 13 of Advent 2024: Cynicism to Joy

When Buddy the Elf arrived in New York City, his childlike joy and relentless optimism ran headfirst into the city’s cynicism. From the grumbling pedestrians to Walter, his distant and dismissive father, Buddy encountered a world that didn’t believe in magic, hope, or...

Day 12 of Advent: Trusting What We Cannot See

Faith is a curious thing. It asks us to trust in something beyond what our eyes can see, beyond what our minds can fully grasp. It calls us to believe in a story still unfolding, in a purpose we can’t always trace, and in a God who is present, even when it feels like...